The Conduit
by Rae Moore
Summary: There's Merlin. There's Arthur. There's Guinevere. There's Lancelot. There's Mordred. There's Morgan le Fay. There's Anna. And then there is Elsa, the Conduit...what the heck is a conduit? G!P Elsa. Inspired by the Arthurian Legend. No incest.
1. Chapter 1

**Moore Info:**

 **I have a problem.**

 **I blame my obsession for female princes.**

* * *

 **Chapter One: Prologue**

Elsa slowly crept towards the red banner that hung down from the top of the stone wall that was inside Camelot's royal castle, Dragon's Reach. It proudly displayed the country's coat of arms that consisted of a lion with an olive branch in its mouth, and a fire breathing dragon. In golden cursive, the words _always preserver_ served as the country's motto.

"Ah ha!" Elsa shouted as she flung the banner to the side. However, the blonde girl she had thought to be hiding behind it was not there. She let out a disap pointed sigh. "She's gotten pretty good at this." Elsa mumbled under her breath right before her ears picked up on a girlish giggle from behind the gleaming suit of armor not too far from her.

 _But not good enough_ , she thought with a smirk as she began to slowly creep towards the decorative piece. Once she was directly in front of it, she abruptly looked behind it with a loud, "roar!" This time her target was there.

"You found me!" Aurora exclaimed after letting out a surprised squeal that echoed throughout the hall.

"You gave yourself away by laughing." Elsa informed her with a smirk as she helped the girl from out of her hiding spot.

The two blondes have been best friends ever since Aurora was brought from the orphanage in order to work as the apprentice to the Queen's handmaiden. When the time came, Aurora would be serving the next Queen of Camelot.

Elsa herself was born inside the castle to a servant woman whom she never got to know as the woman had died while giving birth to her. And no one knew who her father was, according to all the servants Elsa had asked throughout the years. They either did not know or they just chose not to tell her.

Even so, all the servants worked together to raise her themselves. When she became old enough, she was assigned to assist the royal cook with anything he needed, which tended to be peeling potatoes and chopping up onions that never failed to make her look as if she had just watched some sad puppet show. That was all she could do really. She did not possess the skill to cook something other than porridge.

"Oh rats! That always happens." Aurora said with a giggle.

"It's my turn now." Elsa told her. "You count to thirty filthy-donkeys while I go and hide."

"Okay!" Aurora said before turning her back towards her friend in order to begin her counting. "One filthy-donkey," she said with a slight giggle; she never could stop the urge to laugh whenever she counted filthy-donkeys. "Two filthy-donkeys,"

"No peeking!" Elsa warned her after watching her count for a moment. Aurora promptly slapped two hands over her eyes before starting over in her counting in order to be fair. Satisfied that Aurora wouldn't peek, Elsa immediately went off as quietly as she could, grateful to the red carpet that cushioned her naturally heavy footfall.

She first hid behind a large potted plant, but she ended up changing her mind after only a few seconds. She quickly left that spot and renewed her search, all the while keeping her ears focused on the counting Aurora. By the time she hit the thirtieth filthy-donkey, Elsa was still without a proper hiding place.

In a panic, Elsa rushed over to the door that was diagonally across from her. She promptly opened it and entered the relatively dark room, closing the thick door behind her. With her back resting against the closed door, she allowed another smirk to grace her lips.

"Aurora will never find me here." she said to herself. However, her smirk was quickly replaced by a slight frown. "Where exactly _is_ here?"

The inside of the room was dark besides the shaded sunlight coming from the only two windows that were in the room. From the little light that was provided, she was able to deduce the space was an old storage room, as there were many pieces of old furniture and paintings stacked all around the room, taking up majority of the space except for a narrow pathway that went deeper into the large room .

Her curious nature is what had her following that path until it brought her to a dead in. In front of her was a sheet covered dresser. On top of it was a bronze vase that was cracked and caked with dust from being out for however long it took for it to form. In the back of her mind, she wondered as to why the white sheet beneath the vase wasn't dirty with dust as well.

Continuing to stare at the vase, Elsa couldn't shake the feeling that it was calling out to her. She didn't know why, but the vase seemed fake to her; something within her told her that the object was more than it seemed. That very same something had her reaching out towards the vase in order to touch it.

However, before she was able to get her hands on it, an ancient and raspy voice stopped her from any further actions.

"What is your name, curious one." it asked her.

Elsa practically flew into the air in startlement as she swung her body around to see that the ancient voice belonged to none other than King Arthur's most trusted advisor (and the most powerful warlock she's ever seen. In fact, he was the only one she's ever seen).

Merlin Ambrosius.

The king valued him so much that he'd given the warlock the title of lord, even though the man was born to peasants, according to bards.

The tall man, who towered over Elsa, had snowy white hair with a long beard to match. He wore long, white robes that flew when he walked and held a dark wooden staff that was taller than himself. A blood-red emerald rested on top.

"E-Elsa, my lord. Just Elsa." the young blonde stuttered out. The warlock cocked his head to the side as he began to study her with his intense and probing crystal blue eyes that held so much wisdom.

"And what exactly are you doing in here, _Just_ Elsa?" he asked her, dragging out her name.

Elsa gulped. "I was—I was just hiding from my friend Aurora, my lord. We were playing hide-and-s-seek."

The warlock hummed as he continued to stare Elsa down, shifting his staff to his other hand as he did so. "How old are you, miss Elsa?"

"Eight, my lord."

"Eight," he repeated. "such a good age –filled with adventure and _curiosity."_ he said with a slight, pointed nod of his head in her direction.

"Am I to be in trouble?" Elsa asked the man meekly as she began to fiddle with her nervous fingers while shifting from foot to foot. The last thing she'd want was to get into trouble with the great and powerful warlock himself. The servants told her of the many things he could do. She didn't want to be turned into a toad just because she had been playing hide-and-seek.

One, lone white eyebrow rose above a twinkling blue eye of amusement. "Should you be?" he asked her.

Elsa gave a freverant shake of her head in negation. "N-no, sire! I didn't touch nothin'!"

"But you were going to, weren't you? You were going to touch that vase right behind you." Merlin countered.

Elsa's face flushed at the truth behind his words. She ducked her head. "Yes, my lord." she admitted.

"Why?" he asked, very much curious as to what the young child might say.

Elsa gave a small shrug. "I don't know." she mumbled. "I just wanted to." She felt like she had to.

Merlin let out another hum as he continued to dissect Elsa with his eyes before finally telling her, "you're not in trouble," much to Elsa's relief.

"Truly?" she asked after her head shot up from its ducked position to stare up at the tall man with hopeful eyes. Merlin confirmed this by giving her a slight bow of his head. Elsa beamed. Today was not the day for her to be a toad.

"Now run along before you do find yourself in some trouble." he told her, "I would hate to turn such a pretty girl into a toad." he teased with twinkling eyes, very much aware of what the servants told their children to keep them from misbehaving.

Elsa's eyes widened comically as she swallowed the thick lump that suddenly manifested in her throat. She gave him a freverant nod of her head before quickly running off to escape from turning into a slimy creature. She may have liked catching them in order to freak the servants out, but that didn't mean she wanted to _be_ one.

Merlin watched the child go with an amused smile to his lips until the sound of the door slamming shut signaled her exit. Once she was gone, he turned his attention back to the vase that the young blonde had previously been about to touch. Unbeknownst to the young child, the vase _was_ morethan it seemed. And from his observations, after spending a few moments watching her react to it, he suspected that Elsa was able to feel the true power that lay behind the glamoured vase.

He continued to stare at it in wonderment as a thought formed in his mind.

 _Could she truly be the one?_

 **-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-**

After that day, and after having an important meeting with Arthur, the King of Camelot and wielder of the legendary sword Excalibur, Merlin and the king agreed to do something about the warlock's theory in which involved Elsa; just in case it turned out to be true.

They couldn't chance not doing anything.

The first thing they did was remove Elsa from the kitchens. She was now to be tutored in all necessary subjects, including court and battle mechanics. However, that wasn't the only thing they had her learn. She was also made to learn sword fighting and the ways of a gentleman. This was instructed all by the greatest knight in all of Camelot, Sir Lancelot du Lac, who made Elsa his part-time squire whenever she wasn't occupied with her lessons.

Originally, Elsa wasn't supposed to be taught by Lancelot as she was female, and females were taught to be ladies. However, upon being notified of her extra appendage by one of the servants, they switched it up. According to them, it would open up many more possibilities for her in the future.

So out went the troublesome dresses Elsa had worn as a servant, and in came the complete wardrobe that was fit for a young lad, one that the blonde like more considerably as they offered more freedom, and no one scolded her as much when she got them dirty.

Since then, everyone who wasn't King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, and Merlin, called her by the title of lord; a title usually given to those of a noble birth, something she certainly was not, with her being a bastard and all. It never failed to surprise or make her feel semi-uncomfortable whenever someone called her by such a title, even if it were out of courtesy; especially when it was said by the very same servants who had raised her, or her best friend Aurora, who had been assigned to be her new personal servant.

She felt undeserving of it, no matter how much the king and Queen told her otherwise.

At the end of the day, when Elsa was finally able to lay her head down, she'd sleep on the most comfortable bed you could ever believe, and in one of the chambers that was typically reserved for the future children of the King and Queen. However, there was no such children as (rumor had it) the Queen was barren. So, for all intents and purposes, she became the adoptive child of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, despite them not giving a special decree specifically stating so.

After that fateful day in the storage room, the young blonde who previously did not have a family name became Elsa Pendragon, Prince of Camelot, a name that would come to be just as legendary as her father's for centuries to come.

* * *

 **Moore Info:**

 **Yay or Nay for continuing.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Elsa was in the library where the royal scholar was giving her a lesson on the discovered world and its kingdoms, when her father's manservant, Kai, entered the vast room to inform her that she had been summoned to the king's study.

Upon entering the study, Elsa saw that her father, King Arthur (a tall, blonde man in his late thirties who had an equally blonde beard that was neatly trimmed on his face) was not alone as Merlin was present as well. The warlock's presence had her wondering just what her father could possibly need to speak with her about. If Merlin were there, then it was most likely important.

"Father, Merlin," Elsa greeted them once Kai had left the room, closing the door behind him as he went. She moved to stand in front of her father's desk where the man was sat behind. Merlin loyally stood to his right, looking the way he always did; his white beard and robes long, and his wooden staff present in hand.

"Elsa, my daughter." The king said with a loving smile on his lips as he stood politely from his seat. "How are you today?"

"I am well," Elsa replied as she moved her hands to clasp them behind her back. A habit she picked up form Lancelot as this was what he would do whenever speaking with her father.

"That's good. Scholar Colby has informed me that you are doing well with your studies, and Lancelot continues to tell me of your sword fighting abilities. He says you're quite the prodigy." the king said. "I'm quite pleased to hear these things." he praised.

Elsa gave an appreciative smile. "Thank you, father." she said with a slight bow of her head. "I try to be the best that I can."

The king smiled at that. "There's nothing wrong with striving to be the best as long as you don't push yourself further than you are capable of handling." he told her. "Remember that."

"I will, father."

"Good," he commented before gesturing towards one of the two seats that were in front of his desk. "Why don't you take a seat so we can discuss what I've called you in for –Merlin, you as well." the king added with a look towards the older man. Elsa and Merlin took a seat just as they were instructed to do.

"Has this anything to do with my birthday?" Elsa asked the king. Turning sixteen was a big deal in Camelot, and with her being the unofficial prince of the kingdom, it was bound to be a grandiose occasion. It would be celebrated by more than just those invited to the ball that Queen Guinevere was throwing (despite her wishes), as everyone in the kingdom, and from outside too, would be as well.

"In some ways, yes, but not entirely." Arthur answered. "As you know, you will be turning sixteen next month – a milestone in our country." Elsa nodded, following along with his words. "With this, you will now be able to legally drink mead, should you choose to, as well as participate in council meetings in my place. But the most important thing you will be able to do now is...marry." he told the blonde.

Elsa slowly blinked her eyes at his words. She wasn't sure she liked where this was going. "M-marry, you say? Father?" she repeated with a slight stutter.

"Yes, Elsa. Marry." He confirmed. "I have made arrangements for you to marry the daughter of the King and Queen of Arendelle, Princess Anna."

Elsa's jaw practically hit the floor. "P-princess?" she almost squeaked. "You're having me marry a princess?"

"Yes, that is what I said, wasn't it?" the king said jokingly towards Merlin, who chuckled.

"It was, your majesty." Merlin backed his king.

"Father," Elsa cleared her throat, as it sounded a little too high for her liking. "Father, though I may be called prince by your subjects, and you and mother may think of me as your child, we both know–everyone knows, really—that I really am not. I am not your blood."

"You will be when I claim you as such on your name day." the king informed the teen. "There at the ball your mother is throwing, I will also announce my intent to crown you as the heir to the throne." he said calmly, as if his words were not a big deal; as if they weren't life changing at all. Elsa's back straightened abruptly as she began beating at her chest upon choking on the spit that had caught in her throat after hearing such shocking words.

"Heir!" She finally exclaimed with a gasp. Both men tried to smother their laughter at Elsa's expense.

"Yes, Elsa. Heir." he said, amused. "As you said earlier; the Queen and I see you as our daughter, and we truly cherish you as we aren't capable of having one of our own. Camelot needs an heir, and you are who I chose. It has to be you." the king told her with serious eyes to match his tone of voice.

"B-but, you and mother haven't decreed this as such. I am only Prince by name; my blood is not that of a royal. Before Merlin found me, I was nothing but the cook's assistant. The council will never approve of me being your successor." Elsa spoke rapidly, still shocked by how this conversation had turned.

"Your mother and I always planned to make a decree of our adoption of you, but when Merlin told us of an alternative, we decided that his suggestion would be what was best for not only us, but for the longevity of our line and this country." Arthur explained.

"What is this alternative, then?" Elsa asked her father, however it was Merlin who answered her.

"I have found a way to make the king your father by blood." The powerful warlock informed her, causing her eyes to bug.

"Truly?" she asked with a breathy whisper, hope evident in her voice. She had always hoped and wished that her mother and father would legally make her theirs, but the possibility of becoming theirs by blood was even better.

"Yes, my daughter. Truly." Arthur confirmed in the same manner as the times before, looking equally as happy at the prospect.

"How is this possible?" Elsa asked.

"An ancient type of magick found in an old tome that was recently gifted to me by an old friend." Likely one who possessed magickal abilities like himself, Elsa deduced. "It only requires willing participants and an exchange of words."

"And that is all?" It sounded too simple for something so life altering.

"That is all," Merlin nodded slightly. "You may feel a tad unwell, and there is a possibility of a physical change on your part to look a bit more like your father, but other than that; that is all."

"When will we be doing this?" Elsa asked, wanting to do it straight away.

"Tomorrow night, once Merlin has prepared." the king answered.

Elsa nodded before a few keywords Merlin had said earlier finally registered in her mind. "And what of my mother? Will I not look like her as well?" she asked the warlock. Both Merlin and the king shared a brief look before Arthur answered her question.

"I'm afraid not, Elsa."

"Why not? Aren't I her child as well? Does she not wish to be my blood mother?" Elsa asked, hurt by the very idea.

"No, No. She loves you very much so." Arthur quickly disputed. "It pained her to hear that she would not be able to be so. It's just easier to explain why I was 'hesitant' to claim you as mine if people were to believe you were my illegitimate child from a castle servant." he further explained.

"Not many would question it. You already look a bit like me, and there have already been rumors since I first took you as my own." the king continued. "And if any of those Viscounts decide to challenge my claim, then Merlin will perform the standard paternity spell to show them that you are truly mine by blood in order to silence them."

"The both of you really thought everything through."

Merlin gave a tilt of his head. "We did,"

"It was necessary." Arthur said. "I needed to ensure that your spot on the throne would not be questioned. Your rule will be much smoother that way should one of my uncles decided that they should be the next in line." Every last one of his uncles have been salivating at the possibility of becoming the next king of Camelot. However, thanks to Merlin and his powerful magick, they'll be severely disappointed come Elsa's sixteenth name day.

"Camelot also needs this alliance with Arendelle. They are a wealthy nation. We will benefit from them; especially with the amount of natural resources they have access to. They're weapons and armor are far superior than ours on account of the abundance of minerals they have. Plus, their standing army is nothing to bark at as well. They very well rival ours, and Camelot is known for our skilled knights and soldiers." the king said. "You will marry Princess Anna once you become eighteen, and through this joining you both will continue on the Pendragon line."

 **-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-**

The next night, after Merlin saw the king and Elsa through the blood adoption with a somewhat jealous Guinevere acting as witness, Elsa truly became the child of Arthur Pendragon, and the granddaughter of the late King Uther, by blood. She obtained both of their height and their unruly hair after an entire night of fever once it was all complete. After that night, as her appearance looked more like her father and grandfather, the rumors of her being the King's bastard intensified.

 **-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-**

When it was finally the day of her sixteenth name day, a month after the blood adoption, King Arthur announced to all the noble guests (which included his uncles and their family) at the start of the ball that Elsa would be crowned as the heir to the throne in two months' time, and that they would be forming an alliance through marriage with the wealthy Kingdom of Arendelle.

Both announcements earned the King a multitude of shocked gasps, and a range of disappointed and angry looks from his uncles. However, they all settled on showing their support through cheers and polite clapping, no matter if the question of Elsa's blood status lingered in all of their minds; especially in the minds of the king's uncles and his Viscounts.

The king had yet to inform them all of Elsa being his 'illegitimate' child. He decided to do that after the Viscounts would finally question his decision of making Elsa the crowned prince. And they would, there was no doubt about it, and he already knew whose voice would ring the loudest –Viscount Duke, who originally hailed from Weselton.

That man always seemed to have an opinion.

When it was time for Elsa to open her presents, she received many lavish gifts from nobles who sought favor -ranging from new steads, to new blades that were all promised to be the best of the best and from some far away country- but it was the thoughtful ones from those close to her that were her favorites.

From her mother, Queen Guinevere, she received an autographed book from her favorite author and playwright, Belle LeGume.

From her father, she received a slingshot to use on the Viscounts during council meetings should they annoy her. Her mother wasn't too happy about that one.

And from Lancelot, he had promised to actually let up on his teasing during their sparring session, along with a beautiful dagger that may or may have not come from the legendary Lady of the Lake, who was rumored to be the man's adoptive mother.

Merlin, as requested by her, did not give her a gift as he had already given it to her in the form of her blood adoption to her father.

It wasn't until she was handed her last present from her bride to be, Princess Anna, that her first opinion of her fiancé was made. When the royal crier was done informing every one of whom in fact the last gift was from, Elsa opened the long, green, purple, and yellow colored box that showcased Arendelle's national colors.

Inside the box was a folded letter in which she quickly read inside her head.

 **Dearest, Elsa**

 **Wait. Is it okay for me to call you that? My dearest? I suppose not, as we have yet to meet. However, I can't help but already feel so connected to you thanks to the arraignment our fathers have made on our behalf. Hopefully you feel the same and do not think of me as some unusual woman who goes around calling every stranger she meets such intimate names. Though, I fear that I may have already achieved such a thing now that I've went back and read what was previously said.**

 **Apologies if you do think along those lines. I swear I'm not unusual! Though, my affinity for chocolate is quite questionable at times.**

 **Oh my! This is getting quite long, isn't it? I'll try not to keep you any longer. I just want to wish you a happy sixteenth name day! I remember when I myself turned sixteen. I hope it becomes as special of a day to you as it had been for me. However, I could have done without Olaf (that's my cousin. He just turned sixteen too! How fun!) unintentionally starting a fight with a gentleman after giving the man's wife a 'warm hug.' Mind you, the poor boy does not have the faintest idea on how to wield a sword, despite who his father may be, so the whole ordeal was quite comical (though, not so much at the time!).**

 **I bet you would have found it entertaining, especially after some lady lost her wig during the whole commotion! It was positively everything I could have hoped for my sixteenth name day** **.**

 **And there I go again! I really need to work on not going off on nonsensical tangents, or else you will surely find me strange if you haven't so already.**

 **Lastly (I promise!), I would like to extend my absolute greatest apologies for missing your special day. I had planned on surprising you by being there today, but before I was made to leave, my pregnant mother gave birth to my baby brother. He's positively gorgeous too! His hair is as red as his chubby cheeks! Mother says he looks exactly as I did as a child.**

 **I wonder if our children will as well. Though, I'd also like it if they looked like you (that is, if what mother has told me about you is true. If so, it really is fascinating.)**

 **Once again, I wish you a lovely name day, and I look forward to finally meeting you on your coronation day.**

 **Many blessings. Your fiancé,**

 **Princess Annabelle of Arendelle**

 **P.S. I hope you find my gift to you acceptable. I made it myself with the help of a few of my Toll friends.**

 **P.P.S. I will explain the meaning once we have finally met.**

 **P.P.P.S :)**

The letter was a bit longer than Elsa had been expecting, and she had received various looks of curiosity and impatience from the guests because of it, but she hadn't cared one bit; Elsa loved every word of the letter. She had read it with a small, amused smile to her lips, which had widened upon seeing the small doodle of a smiling face at the end. She found that to be quite clever of the older girl.

The letter had given her an idea as to what her fiancé's personality was like. She was suddenly not so averse to marrying the girl.

Elsa carefully refolded the letter and put it inside her coat pocket before finally lifting the flimsy sheet of paper that had separated the gift from the letter. Inside was a hand woven, black leather necklace that had a smooth and small stone rock dangling from it. On its surface, it had the carvings of words that Elsa did not know, as it was in the native language of Arendelle. She now understood the second to last post script Anna had written.

The gift was simple, yet she loved it; she loved it so much that she immediately put it around her neck. However, it seemed as if her guests did not agree with her as their applause was not as boisterous like all the others before it had been. Though, she could tell her mother loved it as the woman loved sentimental gifts like what Anna had gotten her.

As the party continued on, Elsa found herself rubbing at the stone around her neck as one thought was a constant in her mind:

She could not wait to meet Princess Annabelle.

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 **Moore Info:**

 **Next Chapter: Elsa and Anna meet.**


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